MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT U.S. will repay Ohio for prescription snafus, official says

Low-income seniors have had trouble getting their prescriptions in the plan.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ohio will be repaid the cost of temporarily paying pharmacies because of a mix-up about the eligibility of low-income seniors, a federal official said Friday.
"We will assure that the plans reimburse the state of Ohio for any money they would contractually owe them because of payments that have been made on behalf of the plans," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said in an appearance with Gov. Bob Taft.
Ohio is one of about nine states Leavitt is touring this week to learn firsthand about the problems.
Tens of thousands of low-income seniors nationwide have reported not being able to get their prescriptions or being charged hundreds of dollars since the benefit started Jan. 1.
The out-of-pocket cost should not exceed $5 a prescription for those eligible for both Medicare, the federal insurance for those 65 and older, and Medicaid, the state-federal plan for the poor and disabled. About 6.5 million seniors fit the category nationwide, including about 150,000 in Ohio. Officials do not know how many of them are having problems.
Pharmacies to bill state
Last week Taft told Ohio pharmacies to fill the prescription for the $5 rate, after the customer shows both Medicare and Medicaid identification, then bill the state. The bills haven't come in yet for the period that ends Jan. 30, so officials could not guess the cost.
No one should go without life-saving medication, Leavitt said.
"Don't leave the prescription drug counter without having your prescription filled," he said.
Leavitt said the system is making improvements every day. Medicare has quadrupled the phone lines and staff to answer phone calls from pharmacists, and he called hours-long wait times for consumers calling (800) Medicare unacceptable.
About 24 million Americans have enrolled in the Medicare benefit, including 1.1 million in Ohio, at a rate of 30,000 a day, and the program overall is working well, Leavitt said.